we are also extremely challenge in our public transit. we talk about being a transit first city, but everyone has had the experience of sitting in gridlock, waiting for the bus, trying to hail that tab, walking on pedestrian sidewalks that are not particularly safe. as a city, we need to do more to invest in the first-class transportation system. >> what are some of the biggest issues facing your district? >> in addition to the local economy that impacts the merchant corridors, to many vacant storefronts, transit issues, in every neighborhood we're having a real conversation about how we change, whether we should preserve aspects of the important characters of our neighborhood or think about building new things.

there is also a real discussion we're having in many neighborhoods about affordability. i hear from too many tenants in the process of being evicted, homeowners being foreclosed on. we need to think about how all of us can continue to live in a city where the whole world wants to be. >> it is a great place to be. >> it is a great place to be. how do you balance the needs of your district versus the needs of the city as a whole? >> i have an incredibly diverse district. it encompasses north beach and chinatown. we have the city's famous hills. we have for the world comes to work, the financial district's, where the world comes to shop in union square, where the tourists spend time on fisherman's wharf , and the wonderful polk street

neighborhoods. my district encompasses the ethnic and economic diversity that exists throughout the city. i think my district is emblematic of the entire city. you can find every political perspective you can possibly want in district 3. oftentimes, the interests of my district and the city are aligned. i do not have to think about those differences quite as often as some of my colleagues may have to. >> let's talk about the budget situation. we have been faced with some tough budget decisions again, including where to make cuts and whether or not to increase taxes. how will you approached these hard choices? >> our budget is one of the very top challenges facing city government right now. over each of the years i have served, we have had to balance budget deficits that were

around $500 million. this year, we're facing another budget deficit of almost $400 million. fortunately in recent years, we have had some ability to do some one-time budgeting tricks that allow us to balance the budget that do not exist this year. in past years, we've received federal stimulus money. we received more monies from the state government. last year our labor unions decided to contribute a quarter of a billion dollars to help balance last year's and this year's budget. those are things we do not have the ability to avail ourselves of us we balance the upcoming budget in a few months. we are faced with far fewer options. i think we are going to have to continue to look at very deep and difficult cuts.

our priorities have to be insuring and protecting the most basic city services and helping to ensure that we have services to the most vulnerable during this great recession. >> what about the city's housing needs? what should the board due to address those needs? >> we are a city that is seventh by 7 miles. we have incredible density. we're the densest neighborhoods on the west coast. everyone wants to live here. that drives up housing prices dramatically. the housing costs are driving out working folks, families, the middle class. we need to continue to reinvest, to build, to develop, and maintain a troop stock of affordable housing. i am committed to increase in more funds so that we can build

more housing that can be afforded by folks of all economic backgrounds. >> what about the issue of homelessness? >> in recent years during the terrible economy, we have had to cut back significantly. our social-service net, programs for folks who may have mental illnesses, we have seen many problems become exacerbated on the streets. when you combine that with the fact that we have an affordable housing in most parts of the city, it is no surprise our homeless numbers have gone up in recent years. the city needs to recommit ourselves to the values that our city was named after. st. francis believed in compassion for those who have less -- had less than others. those of us with opportunities have to give back.

part of that entails taking care of the most important among us, the folks who have need, including our homeless. >> let's talk about the transportation situation in your district. you mentioned that transit could be better. how is parking and traffic? is there enough muni service now? >> you are talking to the one member of the board that does not only car. i get around my district by muni, bicycle, or hailing a cab. our transit system is truly challenge. our bosses are late one out of four times. -- our buses are late one out of a quarter times. they're still not as clean and safe as we'd like. we can do better and investing in our muni system. we need more taxicabs on the streets. is difficult to obtain a cab.

i support the concept of centralized taxi dispatch systems so you know who you can call to get a cab. i am a big believer in pedestrian bicycling as options to get around town. many cities in the world have far more people working or on bicycles into blocking or on bicycles. they are pleasant most of transit and are efficient. -- many cities in the world have far more people walking or on bicycles. they are pleasant and efficient forms of transportation. that will take cars off the road and make it easier for those who drive. if we want to create a world- class transportation system, we have to make a commitment to each of these modes of transit to allow us to move where we need to go.

>> is it safe for pedestrians on the streets? >> it is not. in recent years, we have had too many pedestrian accidents. there are estimates it costs our cities several hundred millions a year because of traffic accidents, injuries, and fatalities. i am asking one of our transit agencies to study where we're spending our dollars around the district and whether we invested more money would help to reduce our overall costs that come when a pedestrian is hit by a car. >> let's talk about crime in your district. how is the police department doing? do you have any thoughts on how the city is dealing with crime? >> crime rates have been down, particularly violent crime rates and homicides. that is a good thing. in the first few weeks of 2011,

homicides have started to climb back up. we have to be ever vigilant about crimes occurring in all of our neighborhoods. i have been generally satisfied with much of the activity of the san francisco police department. in my district on nob hill, we have always had too many automobile break-ins. on polk street, there are many incidences of drug dealing and prostitution. in some of the entertainment quarters, we of shootings that happened. these are perennial issues that the police department needs to continually tackle. i am a big fan of the concept of community policing. that is the idea that our local police officers need to establish a better relationship with members of the community, residents, and merchants.

through that community partnership, we have seen true successes in being able to combat crime. you have eyes and ears on the street cooperating with the men and women in blue. that helps to reduce crime. i have been pushing our police department to implement that. >> your district is a well-known nightlife destination. how do you balance the needs of the residents with the needs of the restaurants and bars? >> i moved into my neighborhood in part because we have such a wonderful vibrant nightlife. san francisco is famous for our restaurant scene, are seen, club scene. -- are sbar scene. we have had too much violence around these nighttime venues. i have passed several pieces of legislation to address the security and safety needs of neighborhoods.

we all support a healthy, vibrant nightlife. but we also support a safe nightlife that complements our neighborhoods and is not in competition with our neighborhoods. >> what are your thoughts on the city's economic development? what would you like to change about the approach to developing the economy? >> as a city, i do not think we have been good at creating jobs and economic development. there are things we can do to make life easier for businesses. businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. over the past few years, i have helped to eliminate dozens of fees that have been nickeling our small businesses to death. i have been pushing for more stimulus from city contracts.

in the past, those would be awarded mostly to non-san francisco businesses. san francisco needs to do a better job of cultivating business innovation. we need to be the city that competes with silicon valley to attract clean tech, biotech companies. we can do a better job of nurturing creative industries. we need to create a better economy for our local artists. this is a city that has many thousands of small businesses. as someone who used to run a small business, the city can do a much better job of nurturing that sector. that is part of the life blood of who we are as san franciscans. >> we could do better. are we on the right track?

>> i think we are in a transition right now. we have an interim mayor and a new board of supervisors. i do think we have a new tone at city hall to move things forward. we have a lot of challenges we are facing. i am doing everything i can to put us back on track. >> let's talk about the role of sports in the city's economic future. are you happy with the plans for the america's cup? >> i have been a huge fan of the america's cup. i am proud of this board came together unanimously after a fairly contentious debate to support bringing the america's cup to san francisco in 2013. it is estimated it will not only be an incredible sporting event, not only showcase our city and the natural amphitheater of the bay, but it is estimated to bring in over $1 billion in economic activity with 8000 to

9000 jobs. it will be a lot of fun. i am very excited. >> should we spend money to keep the 49ers? >> i just had a conversation with the head of the organization. i told him that i and many others would love to do what we can to keep our beloved 49ers here in san francisco. they are having a conversation with santa clara. we think they need to be part of a city that is in their name. there is so much history intertwined between our 49 years and san francisco. i am very committed to doing what i can to keep them here. >> governor brown has proposed to eliminate funding for redevelopment agencies. what is your opinion of the plan? >> we knew that by electing a

governor brown he would have to make incredibly difficult choices. i do think this through development proposal goes a bit too far -- redevelopment proposal goes too far. it would be catastrophic to many developments and proposed developments. i hope the ongoing conversations to change his proposal will modify it into something that will continue to help localities and counties like san francisco. i think we can get there. >> water some of the biggest land use issues in your district? >> in addition to the america's cup planning, there is a discussion around the development of cpmc. it would be the largest hospital project our city has seen in decades. it would probably be the largest

land use project discussed this year. it is right on the edge of my district. it is seated at the intersection of several separate as oriole -- supervisorial districts. there are issues around displacement, the impact of a large hospital on the surrounding neighborhoods, and whether the size of this hospital and plans in the city wide picture of health care access. i am sure we will have robust discussion about this in the coming months. >> are there any other issues that concern you that we have not discussed? are there any other interests you plan to concentrate on as supervisor? >> one thing every supervisor works on is the relationship between our neighborhoods and city hall. i am blessed in district 3 to

have a rich network of neighborhood associations, merchant groups, and nonprofit organizations that i interface with regularly. they often had difficulty navigating city hall. i am trying to help develop neighborhood councils that bring together these various groups to interface with city hall and city staff as a model to foster partnerships between and our neighborhoods and city government. it is a model we have been working on for a couple of years in district 3. i hope to replicate it to out san francisco fairly soon. >> we are out of time. thank you so much for joining us today on sfgtv "meet your district supervisor."

we have been speaking with david chiu of district 3. ♪ >> you come around here up these stairs and then -- and give us some remarks here. please welcome our mayor, a deadly -- ed lee. [applause] >> welcome back good morning. welcome to sunny san francisco. thank you again, in general, for your work as a chair of our fleet weak association. you have really done a tremendous job.

i wanted to add to your personal story. you know, i was sent over by former mayor gavin newsom to new orleans a few years ago, and we studied what had happened there, and we realized that one of these things that had occurred in new orleans was a breakdown between city government and the neighborhoods. and such that when the hurricanes it and the flooding happened, so many people left that city, and then they did not come back, because there was no relationship between local governments in many of the neighborhoods and many of the residence. that lesson learned in my mind for a very long time. it is that much more important, general, that when you put this fleet week together, that you made disaster preparedness a theme, in an addition to the celebration of our armed forces. you really have touched not only our city government, you have helped me touch every neighborhood in this city.

that is what we need to do in all of our cities. so thanks very much, general, for your leadership on this. thank you. [applause] i also want to thank again our honorary chair, the former secretaries. you have been such a great leader here. i want to thank you for helping us put this together. i know senator feinstein cannot be here, but again, your leadership is extremely helpful in guiding us and reminding us that we owe a great debt of gratitude to our armed forces in everything that we do in the city. i also want to thank our chief protocol officer for helping welcome all of the visitors and elected officials here as well. i also want to thank captain hardin again for an impressive ship we're on here today. you are occupying the very space that, in a couple of years, will hold the ships that will raise in america's cup 34.

some of the 18 ships will be located right here. for now, this is a great occupancy of this particular pier, and i look forward to this afternoon when i have time to be able to see all of the equipment located upstairs as the sun comes shining out. you know, every year, fleet week is, of course, paying tribute to our women and men that are probably serving in our navy, coast guard, and marines. it is remarkable that in recent years, this week has developed into much more than just a sights and sounds of the parade of ships and the blue angels, as i said earlier. the newly established focus on disaster preparedness is an ina valuable thing for our city. since 2004, our city has conducted approximately 100 disaster exercises with the department of emergency management. approximately 250 training

exercises and workshops city- wide have been conducted with first responders and other key city officials. many of these training and exercises have gone well beyond our government agencies, and they now incorporate non- government, eight -- faith- based, and it committee-based organizations, businesses, and schools. we have revamped our cities outdoor public warning system, using homeland security funding, and today, there are 109 sirens with voice and tone capabilities located throughout the city. as part of our regular exercise on tuesday afternoons in our noon testing, we record announcements and announce them in english, and there followed by announcements in spanish and chinese in some of the areas. we also enacted alertsf, sending a personal use on a weekly basis to make sure that things are correctly being sent out to all

of our citizens who sign up. that text-based message system delivers emergency information to cell phones, pda's, e-mail accounts, and to date, 16,500 have signed up for alertsf. we also have our award winning website, 72hours.org that provides information on how to a great family emergency plan, build a disaster kids, and get involved in training before disaster occurs in volunteering to help out afterwards. that information, again, is available in english, spanish, chinese, russia, -- russian, and vietnamese. in addition, we also have a fun website, a web site called quakequizsf.org, where it tests the knowledge of what to do when an earthquake strikes while you're at home, you're driving, you are on public transit, or

even at the beach or at work. we have also enhanced our preparedness throughout the city department from using homeland security funds to conduct training, planning, and exercises, as well as purchase valuable equipment. since 2003, san francisco and the bay area region have received approximately $322 in homeland security grants precisely for that training and equipment. some of our other major accomplishments in emergency management include renovating our city's emergency operations center, adding state of the art technology and equipment. we have continued to revive our disaster council, which i had, and expanding the council to include not only our emergency management partners that nonprofit community, labor, and business associates. purchasing major emergency response equipment, using homeland security grants, that

include field care clinics and care and shelter trailers. in fact, i have been personally involved in recruiting and training people to help our department of public health erect those field care clinics in precisely the time its takes in a very quick fashion. we're training people and volunteers to do that exactly. and we have earned the national weather service designations for storm-ready and tsunami-ready designations. in addition to these efforts, it is isn't so that we all work together and share the best practices -- it is essential that we all work together ensure the best practices so we can better respond to emergencies. this one and a half day seminar is a truly unique learning in relationship-building opportunity for all of us. representatives from a broad range of agencies at the local, state, and federal level have come together for this seminar and for the tabletop exercise that was conducted by our dem

earlier this month. we're getting to know each other, but individually and organizationally. in advance of the next disaster. that is really what we want to be able to emphasize most. we need to do more in advance. we need to prepare people in advance. we need to keep practicing, because every time we looked around, there is new people coming into the city. there is additional immigrants to do not speak english as their national language. their new neighborhoods and new parts of our neighborhood that are already -- always being developed. we need to get all involved. we need to involve everybody. that is why i am so proud to head up this effort and to join the secretary, join the major, and all of the volunteers in our fleet week to join in our effort to make sure that we do our best. this seminar is exactly that focus. thank you very much, and i hope you enjoy your stay here today. thank you. [applause]

>> the right to vote allows us to vote for candidates or party and it is a significant way to have our voice heard.

exactly 100 years ago, women were given the vote in california. the battle for women's suffrage was not an easy one. it took more than 70 years. a woman could run for president in new york. >> organizing this conference, basically it modeled itself on a declaration of independence for women. it marked the beginning of the women's equality movement in the united states. >> at that time, women were banned from holding property and

voting in elections. >> susan b. anthony dedicated her life to reform. >> suffrage in the middle of the 19th century accomplished one goal, it was diametrically opposed to this idea. >> many feared it would be corrupted by politics. >> women in the 19th century had to convince male voters that having the vote would not change anything. that woman would still be devoted to the home, the family, that they would remain pure and innocent, that having the vote woul